The Black Mask
by Trevor Edwards
Summary: Dick foils a bank robbery in progress, but all is not what it seems and the robbery may be of a different kind entirely. A few nods to some classic noir/mystery stories, can you find them? Reviews and criticisms are always appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Buildings of crossing and conflicting architectural design soared into the sky, propelling the shimmering skyline into the heavens as far as the eye could see; creating a presence that loomed hauntingly and intensely over the city below. "_It's an advantage that we're lucky to have_," Bruce would say.

Dick tried not to smile as he threw himself from rooftop to rooftop, and swung across colossal towers with little more than a glorified line of rope, but it was no use. He was a performer at heart and the city was the grandest of stages. At times he wondered how Bruce would remain so calm, so reserved, in the face of such activities. Most of the time, however, he remained present and enjoyed the moment, taking the city in and grinning from ear to ear.

Below the magnificence of the skyline crime and deception bred a kind of madness that was unique to the city. Sirens wailed unrelentingly in response to the madness, as they always did. It was a night just like any other, as far as nights went in Gotham City. As usual, Dick had been bouncing around from one end of the city to the other, assisting the GCPD with a handful of murder investigations and some "special" surveillance that the authorities didn't have…well, the authority to conduct themselves. No super-powered thugs, ego-driven terrorists. All in all it seemed to be a relatively quiet night in Gotham City - the calm before the storm.

About mid-way back to Wayne Tower (the general rendezvous spot of the whacky little family that Dick found himself a part of) a buzz of chatter exploded in his earpiece. The police scanner reported a robbery in progress at one of the branches of the First National Bank of Gotham, the branch that he happened to be closest to. He landed and turned, gathering his bearing before plunging off of the rooftop and firing a grappling line, propelling him in the direction of the bank.

The scene was one you might expect of a bank robbery; police swarming in from all directions, lights cut off inside, hostages, the works. Dick landed on a rooftop adjacent to the bank only moments ahead of GCPD's backup and hostage negotiator, Deborah C. Galloway. She was a tall, redheaded woman with a very serious demeanor and Dick couldn't help but watch her as she exited the SWAT unit's van. GCPD was assembling a makeshift basecamp around the van and it was only a very brief period of time before Police Commissioner Gordon arrived on the scene. Dick was happy to see him, if anyone could resolve this situation quickly and effectively, it was Gordon.

He worked his way across the street, gaining access to the rooftop of a building directly to the right of the bank. His mask displayed fields of vision that gave him a similar kind of advantage as Superman, he could imagine how such an ability could be taken for granted. There appeared to be five robbers; four men, one woman, who lingered in front of the vault, which of course was open. All of the hostages appeared to be bound and restricted to the lobby, providing a barrier between the police and the criminals in the event the GCPD decided to raid the place. There appeared to be five robbers; four men, one woman

Dick spotted a maintenance entrance that led in through the lobby and there didn't seem to be any more opportune of a moment for action on the horizon. He leapt from the rooftop down into the alleyway and quietly broke the lock on the door. He crouched and remained low as he prowled through the lobby, the hostages were fussing and making muffled sounds of panic and terror, but there was no time for that. The best way he could help these people was to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

Approaching the vault wasn't a very difficult task; the team of thieves seemed pretty lax in their behaviors. _That ought to tell you something's fishy_, a voice in the back of Dick's mind blared as he peered at the group from behind a large, marble pillar. It was possible that they were just amateurs making amateur mistakes, but he doubted that. The way they had been operating up until this point suggested that this wasn't the first time they had planned and executed something like this.

Dick took a brief moment to observe the group and their actions, which weren't many. They remained still, for the most part, the men occasionally rocking on their heels or staring up at the ceiling. The woman was far more interesting to watch. She had her back to him and her actions were obscured. If he had to take a guess, which he didn't like doing, he'd say that she was on a cellphone or some other kind of device based on the light that was radiating in front of her. They were all wearing suits, oddly enough. Jet-black and tailored to perfection. The men all wore hats but the woman did not. Her black hair hung freely and was jaw-length all the way around. None, except the woman who had a handgun holstered at her side, appeared to have any firearms.

_It's now or never_, Dick thought as he gently slid several silver, marble sized balls across the smooth floor towards the group. The woman, who still had her back to him, became aware of the gas sphere's presence just a split second before they released their contents, something that an amateur would be very unlikely to do.

"He's here, boys!" She shouted as she spun on her heels and pulled a handgun from the holster at her side.

_So, they were expecting me, or at least, one of us_, Dick thought as he ducked back behind the pillar. To his surprise it didn't sound like the pillar was being chewed up by ammunition, in fact, he hadn't heard a single shot fired. Instead, he heard footsteps running towards him on the other side of pillar. He pulled two batarangs out and began to move out from behind the pillar, but it was too late. In the flash of a instant the pillar exploded in front of him, knocking him backwards a good several feet. He was dazed but forced control, the world around him quickly came back into focus from nothingness and he could see the shattered pillar, but more importantly, the man charging at him from the pillar's direction.

_Metas. They must be metas, that's why they aren't armed. So then, is she a meta? Why is she armed? Their leader, perhaps? No time, have to move, _Dick thought as he flipped back onto his feet and dove out of the man's path. He thought it reasonable to assume that this thug's ability was strength, given the fractured pillar.

_Well he's definitely no genius_, Dick thought as the man tore past him and smashed into a desk. He retrieved another batarang and sent it whirling towards the remainder of the goons. It flew passed them and made contact with the vault door, releasing a small explosion.

"He's a feisty 'lil bit of poultry, ain't he, boys?" The woman yelled over the ringing in her ears.

Dick's attention momentarily shifted to the goon who had smashed the pillar and charged him, he had crashed through several desks and was out cold. He turned back to the others and saw the three remaining men bolting towards him.

"You guys wanna dance? Hope you're better than my last partner!" He shouted as he pulled out another batarang and began closing the distance between them. By the way the men charged and carried themselves, it wasn't hard to deduce that they also had enhanced strength, but again, weren't the most intelligent of men. He tossed the batarang at one of the men, whipping across the man's cheekbone and knocking him flat on his back. The other two men engaged him, but they had no idea what they were doing. He quickly dodged their blows, planting his heel in the back of one of the remaining thug's knees before striking him on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. That's when things got messy.

Before Dick had a chance to deal with the fourth thug, the woman had fired several shots from her gun, which as it turned out, to be more of a tranquilizer. He tried ducking out of the way, but two of the rounds she had fired planted themselves in the lower half of his left leg. The armoring of his suit had absorbed much of their impact, but they had indeed broken his skin. Immediately he began to feel woozy, things began to blur, and the world seemed off kilter.

Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

"What a pretty bird he is," Dick heard a voice, the woman's voice, say. Things were still black and despite his best efforts he was unable to move. Whatever she had hit him with packed one hell of a punch. He could feel that he was sitting upright, with his hands restrained behind his back. In fact, his whole body felt restrained. He opted to 'play dead' and see what information he could gather from his attackers, since there seemed little more he could do.

The voices of several men grumbled about leaving money and one of their comrades behind, but the woman just laughed it off and said it was the price of business. He was certain now, if he hadn't been before, that she was their leader.

That was something that struck him. _What kind of bank robbers aren't concerned about leaving money behind?_ The thought buzzed around in his head and after a moment it seemed so obvious. He remembered what she had shouted when he deployed the gas spheres; it wasn't a bank robbery at all, it was designed to look like a bank robbery to lure him there, but why? What was this woman's endgame?

_I suppose I'm about to find out_, he thought as a slender hand grabbed hold of the bottom of his face. "Waaaake up, birdy," the woman purred. There was an excitement in her voice that sounded _almost_ psychotic.

Dick pulled his eyelids open and saw a beaming pair of green eyes staring at him from behind a black domino mask that wasn't unlike the one he was wearing. Up close the woman was something else. She had thick, curly black hair that bounced as she moved; well defined features, powerful red lips, and a sweet scent that was quite unlike anything else.

She marveled at him for a moment before biting her lower lip and pulling away, "My name is The Black Mask and these lovely gentlemen are my very strong associates, The Masks," she said.

This was just the opportunity that Dick needed. He did a quick scan of the room. It was an office, a small one, with grey walls, one door and a large window covered by white window blinds. An old factory or warehouse somewhere, that's where he was, no doubt about it. Despite Gotham's rich architectural diversity, everything in the warehouse district was built more or less the same. He glanced over at her three goons, who were huddled in the corner around a small desk and on the desk sat his belt.

"You know," he said as he began to slowly feel and investigate his bindings, "we've already got **a** Black Mask. I'm sure he's got a copyright on the name, or something. We'll call you…hm, I don't know, I'm sure we can come up with something clever." He grinned as he finished speaking. The longer he could keep a dialogue between them, the more time he had to free himself.

She turned and glared, "I'm _The_ Black Mask. I'll deal with that fool in due time. Capturing you was my first priority."

"And why is that?" Dick tilted his head perplexedly as he replied.

Her face beamed with excitement and once again she came in close to him, "Because when I kill you it will have proved that I'm someone to be taken seriously."

_Definitely psychotic, no question about it_, Dick thought as he continued to wiggle his hands free.

"Too bad," she continued as she turned from him again and move towards the desk, "you've got the nicest blue eyes."

"Flattered, truly," Dick replied, "but I don't suppose I can dissuade you, can I?"

His question was met with silence, an answer whose meaning he expected.

She picked a gun up from the desk and this time he doubted that it would fire tranquilizers. She turned back to him and moved towards him, her face was still radiant and beaming with excitement.

"Clipping the wings of the Bat's first bird, how exciting!" She squealed.

_Not tonight_, He thought as slipped his hands free and dropped a gas sphere on the floor that had been hidden in his glove. He held his breath and waited as the small office exploded in a cloud of smoke that had _The_ Black Mask and her goons all blind and choking. Dick slammed his heel on the floor, exposing a knife from the toe of his boot. He removed it and quickly cut through the rope that bound his legs.

"Get him! I want him dead! NOW!" She shouted between gasps for air. Dick could hear the goons stumbling about and decided that the situation needed to end.

"Sorry to spoil the party, but I rather like my wings!" He shouted as he tapped the side of his mask and threw the chair he had been tied to at one of the men. It exploded into a dozen wooden fragments and the man stumbled backwards, eventually falling flat on his backside. The ball was in his court now. The eyelids of his mask were now opaque and provided a filter that allowed him to see through the clouded office, an advantage he doubted The Black Mask to have.

He moved through the smoke towards the table to retrieve his belt, encountering and quickly neutralizing the other two men in brief stints of hand to hand combat. But as he made it to the desk and reached for his belt shots rang out, followed by the shattering of glass. The Black Mask had fired her weapon at the blinds, breaking the window and causing the smoke to leak out into the rest of the warehouse.

_Clever_, Dick thought.

He slipped his belt on and dove on the other side of the desk, trying to put something between The Black Mask and himself. The smoke had cleared out rapidly enough that she knew where he was and began to open fire, blowing holes clear through parts of the desk. He pulled two batarangs out and leaned out around the side of the desk, sending them flying.

One planted itself nicely in the back of The Black Mask's hand, causing her to drop the gun in an instant of pain. The other nailed her near the collar bone, knocking her off balance and putting her on the ground. He rose from his spot of cover and let out a brief sigh before tapping his earpiece and calling Gordon.

GCPD were on the scene within moments of his call and "The Black Mask" and crew were being picked up and loaded into security vans. As usual, Gordon made his way over and spit the usual small talk, "You alright, son?"

"Yeah, peachy." Dick replied with a smile, "Tell me, who is she?"

Gordon referred to the large file under his arm, which was filled with pictures and police reports galore, "One Dotty Nelson. Career criminal by the looks of it, says she was tied to some thug named Rusty Nelson at one point. Never married, but she took his name. Ended up doing some serious time, killed a state trooper who tried to pull her over. Served twelve years of a twenty-five year sentence, let out on good behavior," Gordon paused and looked up from the file at the van that Dotty and company were detained in, "No tie to Black Mask or any other crazies, though. You think we've got another one for Arkham?"

"I'm no expert, Commissioner, but she was planning to kill me, usurp Black Mask and take over his gang empire," Dick said with a chuckle.

"Just another night in Gotham," Gordon sighed as he pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes.

_Yeah, just another night in Gotham_, Dick thought with a smile as he snuck away back into the night.


End file.
